Carlos Prío Socarrás

Prío became politically active while a law student at the University of Havana, spending two years in prison for his anti-government activities. He took part in the coup that deposed Gerardo Machado’s dictatorship in 1933 and helped organize the Partido Revolucionario Cubano Auténtico. He went into exile in the United States when this party was outlawed, returned to Cuba in 1939, and was elected to the National Assembly. In 1940 he became leader of his party and was elected senator in that year and again in 1944. He served as prime minister from 1945 to 1947 and labour minister from 1947 to 1948. In the latter position he opposed the Communists, ending their control of the unions. Elected president in 1948, Prío continued the centrist policies of his predecessor, Ramón Grau, and pursued programs of agrarian reform and establishment of low-cost housing, a national bank, civil service, and labour courts. In spite of vigorous efforts to increase foreign trade and restore public order, Prío was unable to solve Cuba’s economic problems. In the face of growing labour unrest, he did little to combat corruption and gang violence. In 1949 he tried to organize a bloc of Latin American countries committed to democratic government in order to combat internal and external antidemocratic elements. Prío was deposed by Fulgencio Batista in 1952 and went into exile in the United States until 1959, when he returned to Cuba to support Fidel Castro. He returned to Miami in 1961, becoming a spokesman for the Cuban community in exile. His death was apparently a suicide.